What She Can Do For You

Linnea Good and the Hospitality of Music

Linnea’s Workshops
Linnea Good’s work is in exploring the role of music in worship and especially in helping bring all ages of worshippers together for a spiritually satisfying worship experience. She leads workshops with the following focuses:

New Music in the Church – Singing and reading through new music repertoire (with a focus on Linnea’s and others’ congregational and group songs). Participants leave with new songs (and permission to use them) and a multiplicity of ways of making use of them.
Intergenerational Music and Worship – Asking the question “What do children need in order to worship?”, the session explores the simple components of worship for all and creative ways of celebrating them. Music is key to the all-ages worship and participants sing and take home many new songs.
Leading Singing – An engaging, encouraging time to learn simple skills that will invite people into making a joyful noise.
Planning Worship Using Music as the Connecting Thread – a Workshop for ministers of word and of music. Linnea offers a unique approach for using sung, chanted and instrumental music to provide the invitation through the liturgy (rather than a punctuation to the spoken word).
Dream with Us! Linnea will also co-lead a workshop with you, bringing a musical dimension to your spiritual retreat, annual general meeting, training event, etc.

David Jonsson’s Workshops
David leads a 1-3 hour session to introduce the basics of percussion for worship. The workshop explores with sensitivity the environment of the worship service, the people and the purpose that are served by the music, and teaches how to create and “grow” a piece of music using simple guidelines for when and how to play. This is an exciting educational experience for beginners and the experienced alike.

What We Would Need for a Linnea Workshop

an in-tune piano
wall or screen for projection (unless the workshop is for or about preschool children only)
small sound system for groups of 20 people or more (amplifier, speaker, microphone and boom stand)
ideal room is a NOT the sanctuary or raised stage area
often we send the host a workshop booklet (pdf form) to be copied and given to participants. We send 1 week in advance

What We Would Need for David’s Workshop

in most cases, David would need the host to provide percussion instruments for the workshop – to be negotiated
A room with chairs and tolerant neighbours is all that is otherwise required for the session

FEE SCHEDULE
Linnea charges $500 per segment of a day – that is: morning, afternoon or evening.
A segment can be any amount of time up to 3 hours.
A 2-segment day costs $750 – ie. a morning and afternoon event

David charges:

$400 per segment
$600 two segments

Linnea and David both give workshops:

$800/segment, 2 segments: $1200

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS FOR YOUR BROCHURE (samples)

The Hospitality of Worship
There is a flow to our traditional (or any good) liturgy that mirrors the flow of any good visit with a friend. There is a beginning in which we greet and find our place, a middle in which we are able to be deep, vulnerable and receptive, and an ending in which we re-emerge from the intimacy and prepare to go back out into the world. When planning worship, attention should be given - as we would in our own home - to the kind of intimacy and energy that we expect of our "guests" at any time in the service. In so doing, people feel safe, comfortable and willing to enter the liturgy. Inattention to this results in an agenda-like worship whose "pieces" might all be excellent, but which will have a harder job of inviting people in. I help worship planners (both word and music) to assess their own usual service in light of this approach, and then to see how music in particular (but also word, prayer, silence and other elements) can be a helpful tool.
Children and Worship
Do children need to worship? If they do, what needs to be a part of the worship time? I suggest that, at rock bottom, children need song, story, ritual and prayer. In this workshop, we take the time to analyse the ways that decisions get made about what happens in the children's "worship" - if we have one - and look again at what that experience might best be. Then, because I am a musician - and a biased one who believes that music is the most full and effective way of conveying meaning in a liturgical setting - we look at how each of the other three elements - story, ritual and prayer - can be enhanced with a simple use of song, music or rhythm. Of course, we sing a lot, and new music is in the booklet for immediate use back in our home congregations.
How Do You Lead a Song When Your Knees are Knocking out of Time?
Singing is an expression of the soul - an activity akin to breathing. When singing is seen as an opportunity to express ourselves together rather than a performance by skilled experts, we begin to lead from the heart, rather than the conductor's wand. This workshop is an inspiring - and hardly scary - time of developing our skills in leading a group (of any size) in shared song. Attention is given to the kinds of songs that work best with different ages and developmental stages, the comfort-level of the group as it progresses, how to choose the right song for the moment and in keeping with our values, how to lead so others will follow, and a few actual musical hints. The process involves a whole lot of singing and a very supportive group in trying out some new skills.
Singing Hallelujah!
A workshop-songshop for all ages. We will sing our faith together, hear and tell stories, make up song verses and laugh a lot. Designed for children and adults ages 4 and up (or younger, with 1-on-1 assistance), this session uses the best media of the Christian tradition for sharing our faith: song and story. Bring no fancy clothes, no props, no previous experience (unless you have some) and no worries. The rest is up to us!